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Why we brought a time machine to a pirate partyWe built a time machine to travel to the future to see what really moved pirate entrepreneurs.
Last week, we did something absolutely serious and completely silly. We dressed up aspirates, and brought a time machine to a tech conference. And would you believe it – theresponse we got was overwhelming.
Now, you may wonder why the hell we'd take a moment to tell you about our adventure. Oneof the things many online companies struggle with is how to have impact in the real world.Events can be great to test your idea, but it's also hard to stand out from the rest of theexhibitors. It's especially hard to make an impact at bigger events when a massive number ofcompanies are clamoring for the same eye balls and talk-time.
Well, we've been attending different conferences over the past few months and have watchedour shenanigans evolve into an exhibition people want to be a part of and that still makes totalsense. Here’s what we’ve learned so far.
1. Have a crazy idea.
Sometimes you have crazy idea’s remain just that - a crazy idea. But every now and then, oneof those crazy ideas actually seems to work. And very occasionally it works brilliantly. In ourcase we chose to build a time machine, specifically a TARDIS (Time and relative dimension inspace). We spent about a week with our team in a woodworking shop and created a life sizeDr. Who TARDIS.
The point of the TARDIS? To take people for a quick one-on-one session where we got themthinking about their future and what they would want from it. Then we discussed that andwithout any kind of sales pitch just chatted about it.
Oh and there was alcohol. That helped.
2. Execute it somewhat ok
Once you choose an idea execute it well enough that you know people will smile – either atyour creation or at your stupidity – you've just made magic happen. The key is for people tostop, look at your creation and give them the opportunity to start a dialogue.
We built the TARDIS to draw attention - and even though it certainly wasn't perfect that'sexactly what it did. It got people to chat with us. The sessions in the TARDIS needed a little bit
of work - but soon enough because the setting was so strange we did start to have superinteresting insights into how people think and what they expect from the future.
3. Fine-tune your crazy idea.
Once you have a dialogue going, you can drive home the value. We actually took a deep diveinto our metaphor of time travel. Within no-time, we had created a whole new type ofexperience where we took visitors into the TARDIS to meet their future them. Then their futurethem would explain how they achieved more of what it was they wanted to achieve.
Sure, it sounds absolutely bonkers. But you'd be surprised at the insights people had whenthey just took 10 minutes and a shot of rum to think about where, and who, they wanted to be.
A full session video with Alex is coming soon, so you'll be able to see for yourself whathappened.
4. Dress up like a pirate.
This one is especially important. It really doesn’t have to be a pirate, you can be batman for allwe care. The point is that nothing helps more than dressing up silly to give people an excuseto start a conversation. Before you know it you’ve sold another 3 accounts to your superawesome product. There’s super normal principle at work here – playing dress-up can breakthe ice even in the most uncomfortable situation. Add some well-chosen weirdo accessories totake the heat of your pitching, and you'll keep chatting before you know it. And even if you'renot pitching the whole time, you bet you'll be having more interesting conversations.
5. Let others talk
In the end, it's all about listening. Whether it's your customer or your friend, but listening is theactive other part of a conversation. Yeah it's a little bit cliché, but let other people (attendee’s)talk and listen to their stories - it’s quite refreshing at a conference where most people aretrying to talk to you about their product, service, startup or ¯\_( )_/¯.
And why exactly would pr.co do this?
ABOUT PR.CO
Pr.co is an online platform for engaging press releases aimed at companies and PR agencies. The Amsterdam-based company launched in April, 2010 at The Next Web Conference. Pr.co has now over 10000 clients worldwideand is changing the way news is written, read and distributed.
Sure, playing steampunk pirate is fun, but what could it possibly have to do with our core-business? Well, it turns out it had everything to do with it.
At pr.co we believe that if you want to be perceived in a particular way, you need to be thinkingabout how you want your company to be perceived in the future. You start with a purpose,that's what you're really about. And it's in that purpose that you will find the interesting storiesthat people will want to listen to. Then you execute towards that goal, and within a few yearsyou'll be exactly where you want to be. We built a TARDIS to execute a more personal versionof this, and we heard people create the most interesting stories.
So dare a little, dream about your future, dress up like a pirate and find your story.
Jeroen BosCo-Founder
+316 30 71 05 24
jrnbs
Stefan FountainCEO
spif
SPOKESPERSON
